[10/20 15:00 UTC] Salesforce to buy AI marketing platform Braze for $5.66 billion…

AI News Flash for October 20, 2026 at 15:00 UTC. Topics: 1. Salesforce to buy AI marketing platform Braze for $5.66 billion https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/20/salesforce-braze-acquisition-deal.html https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/salesforce-signs-definitive-agreement-acquire-120000423.html 2. DeepSeek open-sources DeepInfer, the inference software behind its own services https://qz.com/deepseek-open-source-deepinfer-inference-software-ai-102026 3. Ex-OpenAI research chief Bob McGrew's AI manufacturing startup Arda raises $230 million at a $1.5 billion valuation https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/20/ex-openai-executive-builds-1point5-billion-ai-manufacturing-startup-arda.html 4. Spotify says it pulled more than 50 million AI slop and spam tracks from its recommendations https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1014284/spotify-ai-slop-spam-songs-removed https://variety.com/2026/music/news/spotify-inks-licensing-deal-believe-music-ai-remixing-tool-1236917404/ 5. AI enters Americans' top 10 fears for the first time in Chapman University's survey https://news.chapman.edu/2026/10/20/2026-american-fears-survey-ai/